Aching Tune
by FrostyNight98
Summary: Stry 8- Toshiro never cherished the small things in life, never acknowledged them as something significant. However, when Karin steps into his life, he just can't seem to ignore her like he'd do to every other person. Just what does the dark haired beauty hide behind her smirks and hot temper? What secrets does she bury into her soul?
1. Crawling Under The Skin

**Chapter 1-** _Crawling Under The Skin_

* * *

"Did you hear who was coming back, David?"

Toshiro restrained himself from scowling when the sentence intruded his ear. Pushing the thought of ever hearing their voices aside, said boy proceeded in walking down the halls of Karakura High, your typical school where teenagers lacked the focus of paying attention, teachers frustrated with the lack of focus from the students, and the uprising of drama in every corner. And what better way to cause drama than to start rumors about an incoming student? Not a new student, technically, but a student coming back. Whoever it was, Toshiro didn't waste his thought on it too much. By the looks of it, he or she was very well-known by the male population. It discussed him that it might be a girl they were talking about. _Karin_ was a girl's name, after all.

"Tsk, after five years, Kurosaki decides to come back now?"

Gritting his teeth, Toshiro quickly passed by all the students and dismissed their cries of protest as he shoved some of them away. Finally escaping the surprisingly large crowd (Even though it was still too early for classes to begin), Toshiro walked around in the hallway where only whispers could be heard.

The High School was rather large, living up to the nickname of a Gothic-like building. Instead of light bulbs, medium-sized chandeliers decorated the high ceiling and brown glossy wood coated the floor. There were five floors- the cafeteria, auditorium, and gym occupied the basement while the students and teachers took over the rest of the floors.

"Toshiro? Hey wait up!"

Getting out of cloud 9, the white-haired teen looked back and lightly smiled. Before him stood Rina, the most popular and surprisingly nicest girl there was. Bright shining red eyes looked over him, a wide smile on her face as she ran over to him, her short baby blue hair falling everywhere.

"Why so early?" he asked. Rina shrugged and instead, wrapped herself around his arm.

"Can't I see my boyfriend?" she asked, nuzzling herself closer to him. Toshiro only shrugged as he continued to walk down the empty halls with her.

When he had transferred to this school three years ago, he was a complete wreck! His last High School fed on his ego and eventually, he came to think that he was better than everyone and could get away with anything. Damn, was he wrong.

First step into this school, he was bound to change his ways. The teachers didn't care about how wealthy or how "devilishly gorgeous" one was. Even a straight A student didn't get special attention. That's how the teachers worked: Equal and simple.

That's why he started to do all his homework.

Realizing bribery or sly words wouldn't solve his problems anymore; he just stuck with the daily routine of a student: Do the homework and you don't fail! The task was simple as that.

But even when he became a straight A student, his personality was still that of a jock. He still thought he was superior to others and that everything revolved around him. That is, until his cousin transferred to his school and straightened him up.

Momo wasn't a girl you'd like to disappoint. He had learned that the hard way. She eventually straightened up his personality and banned him from getting daily allowance. His mother and father agreed to it (quite willingly) and so, had to learn how to work for it. That was three years ago and now Toshiro would proudly call himself an independent person with no snobby attitudes.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Rina asked, pouting as she looked up at him.

"Yeah..." Toshiro said, his turquoise eyes gazing at anything but her. Okay, maybe parts of his attitude didn't disappear like he had thought. Lying was one of the major things he did back then, and he didn't want to lie- scratch that, he didn't like to lie at all!

He met Rina while on his "rehab" faze- as Momo calls it, and ended up liking her attitude. She was good for him. Their relationship was good and healthy if you took out the many on and offs they had, it was considered good...

"Okay!" she beamed, letting go of his arm when they both heard the bell, signaling classes had begun. "I know you were lying so I'll just tell you at lunch! See you later!" she shouted, running off to the opposite direction as him. They were in different classes since he had a lot of AP classes. The only classes they shared were lunch, gym, and tech- a class where two subjects merged together. Those two subjects were art, which she took, and engineering, the class he took.

Toshiro let the guilt wash over his face and headed to class, wondering what Rina had wanted to talk about. If she knew he was lying, then why didn't she fuss and throw her tantrum? Was what she wanted to tell him so important she couldn't keep quiet about it? Toshiro dismissed the thought when he spotted the door to his class.

"So you've finally decided to come, Hitsugaya."

The white haired boy didn't bother to glance at his math teacher when he entered the room, ignoring the many stares that followed him all the way to the back of the room. Plopping himself on the chair, said boy glared at the people who were still staring at him. Once they all gulped and looked away, he rested his head on the desk and closed his eyes, too tired to even pay attention in class.

He'd have to remember to kill Matsumoto when he got back home. Seriously, what kind of mother in their right mind would encourage their child to stay up all night? To make it worse, Toshiro had actually obeyed her orders- regretting it when she had woken him up the next morning claiming it was already 9 o'clock and he was late for school. When he had run out the house with only a toast in his mouth and school uniform barely tucked in, he ceased to notice the still dark night. And of course, when he had reached the school, he looked at his watch to see the time and almost gave out a shrilled cry. It was 6:30 a.m. damn it! School didn't open till 8:10!

And now, as Toshiro looked through his memory, he idly wondered if his father had something to do with it. Gin was well-known for being quiet and sly sometimes. He probably switched the time or flipped the digital clock over, who knows? Brushing the thought of his family away and feeling slightly more awake than before, Toshiro proceeded to pay attention in class.

* * *

"What are you in for this time, Toshiro?"

Sighing and ignoring the woman behind the front desk, Toshiro turned to the right where a set of three cushioned chairs could be distinguished. Sitting on the seat, head resting on his palm, said boy looked over to the dark-skinned receptionist whose golden eyes were only focused on him, a cat-like smirk appearing on her face.

Shihōin Yoruichi wasn't like most teachers in this school. Teachers here were boring and bland- a perfect description of his math teacher, Mr. Kuchiki. Or either crazy or obsessed with the subject they teach, like Mr. Kurotsuchi in the science department or Mr. Zuraki in the sports department. Every child in this school loved Yoruichi though. Most of the time she let the kids have their way with almost anything. She only dropped this rule when it was something big- which had never once happened. She was like a second mother here, where one could tell her anything and she wouldn't judge. Some kids had wanted her as their councilor, but she had refused- never giving an explanation to back up her declaration.

"Lunch detention." he said nonchalantly, gazing out the window where rain was pouring on the fragile sakura trees. The clouds were dark and if he strained his ears hard enough, he could make out the incoming thunder. He grimaced when he remembered he hadn't brought an umbrella with him. Hopefully, it stopped before school ended.

Yoruichi raised a brow as she leaned forward. "Oh?" she asked. "Who sent you here? Was it Mayuri? What did you do?"

Toshiro sighed at her childish antics. Didn't she have work to finish up? Even when his head argued that he wouldn't tell her, his mouth had already sprinted away without a second thought. "It was the same as last time. The man is just too stubborn to be a teacher if he can't even admit he was wrong in one of the formulas he made us do." Scrunching up his nose at the memory, he wondered if he could ever forget the image of the mad scientist out his head. Seriously, just because he had corrected the man (In an I-know-better-than-you-way and embarrassed him in front of the class) didn't mean that he had to send him to detention! He had stuff to attend to! Rina was probably angry that he hadn't shown up. To make matters worse, Momo had the same lunch period as them and if she spotted Rina, all hell would break loose. He didn't know why Momo didn't particularly like Rina, since they were both really nice.

Yoruichi barked with laughter at his irritation. "Yeah, I assumed it was something like that."

As he was about to reply with a comment that other teachers would've scowled at, a figure stepped into the main office drenched with rain. The only thing that could have protected the person from the cruel nature outside was the thin black - and may he add baggy- sweater. A hood was covering the strangers head so he couldn't see what he or she looked like.

"Yes, how can I help you?" Yoruichi asked, gazing at the hooded figure before her.

The person drummed their red fingerless gloves on the desk as if contemplating against something. After what seemed like an hour of a mental argument, the person lifted their hood, letting it drop over their shoulders.

Trying to get a better look- since he only had a profile view of the person- Toshiro noted that it was a girl around his age or younger. A girl he had never seen before. She had midnight hair that fell to her mid-back and milky skin. No cuts or spots decorated it and he had to restrain himself from getting up and grabbing hold of her face to tilt it here and there so he could get a better view of her. From where he stood, she looked like a real life manikin from one of those clothes store. The only difference was that while manikins dressed up for the latest trend, this one before him didn't. Seriously, someone who wore a baggy sweater, red gloves, blue skinny jeans and red converse didn't particularly seem to care what they wear.

"Oh my gosh." he heard Yoruichi gasp. She got up from her chair and leaned forward, taking in the girl's appearance. "Is that you, Karin?"

The girl hesitantly nodded.

Raising a brow, Toshiro tested the name in his mind. Karin. Nodding silently to himself, he came to the conclusion that her name had a rather nice ring to it. Karin, Karin, Karin.

"You're so grown up! Look at you!" Yoruichi said. Karin laughed awkwardly, rubbing her head.

"Yeah, and look at you. You haven't changed one bit." she replied. "Still sneaking students away from their trouble?" she asked. Yoruichi only smirked, sitting back down and going through some files.

"You're here for your schedule, right?" she asked. Karin nodded, taking in the sight of the white room that was decorated with loads of paperwork, desks, chairs, and green tropical plants.

Finally, for what may have felt like hours, her gaze soon landed on Toshiro and he had to restrain from looking away. She had the nicest grey colored eyes. She had a heart-shaped face along with dark eyelashes and a little lean nose. One thin but perfect brow was raised as her pink grown lips transformed into a sly smirk. "Like what you see?" she teased.

It took Toshiro three full seconds to comprehend that she was talking to him, and when he did, a scowl emerged on his face as he crossed his arms and leaned against his chair. "As if."

"Really?" she asked as her eyes widened. "Then what's that slight drool on your lips?" Leaning slightly forward, Karin pointed a thin finger at his mouth.

Toshiro could only turn beet red. Surely she was lying, wasn't she? Giving a light scoff, Toshiro leaned forward. "That happens when I see trash." he shot back, turquoise eyes shining with amusement. He couldn't really blame himself for the excitement piling up. Barely anyone dared to speak to him with such voice.

Karin snarled a bit, lips slightly lifting up so he could have access to the sight of her white canine teeth. Before she could say anything however, Yoruichi called out for her.

"Karin, here's your schedule." she said, giving the girl a small index. As Karin grabbed the small paper, Toshiro caught sight of a small glint wrapped around her wrist. It had shinned in the light and he wondered what it was. Was it a bracelet? She didn't look like the type to have jewelry on herself.

Dismissing the thought, he watched as Karin turned to leave.

"See you later, shorty." she said, giving him one last smirk before disappearing around the corner.

Yoruichi, who was watching the scenario from the start, howled with laughter. Toshiro growled, resting his head on his palm. He was _not_ short!

"She's a Kurosaki alright." he heard Yoruichi mumble, missing the sad waiver to it.

Kurosaki, huh? Toshiro thought, remembering the surname he had heard in the hallway earlier this day. So that was her, he concluded, drumming his fingers on the arm-chair. He waited for Yoruichi to look elsewhere and not him.

As soon as Yoruichi stopped laughing and started doing her work, Toshiro immediately took out his turned-off phone and looked at his reflection. A twitch to the brow was directed at his foolishness when he didn't spot any drool around his mouth. Putting his phone inside his pocket, Toshiro had already come to a conclusion that he didn't like this Karin girl.

* * *

"Toshiro! Toshiro!"

Toshiro stopped from entering his classroom and looked over at Rina.

"Where were you? I was waiting for you at lunch!"

"Sorry, I had lunch detention." he said softly, giving her a half-hearted smile. Rina raised a brow.

"Why?" she asked.

Toshiro grimaced.

He didn't want to recall the events that led him into the office so instead he told her not to worry about it. Rina just peered at him, suspicious of his answer until she shrugged her shoulder.

"M'kay!" she called out, running off to a different direction. "See you next period!" she shouted, running down the long eerie hallway and disappearing from his sight.

Sometimes, Toshiro wondered what went through the girl's head. In some occasions the blue-headed teenager was nice to him and other occasions she would just shrug him off as if he didn't exist. It kind of hurt back then, since he was new with the relationship thing and it felt as if he were being used. That feeling was one of many reasons why they kept having breaks. And as he thought about it more while entering his classroom, Toshiro came to a conclusion that he now cared less of Rina's actions towards him.

He sighed and looked out the window beside him. The dark clouds and pouring rain gave him a bad feeling that it wasn't going to end soon. He only hoped Momo brought an umbrella.

Since she lived in his house, it would be better for them to walk home together, something they barely did because of the different lives they ran.

When Rina had found out about Momo living inside his house, it had brought up another break. Was their relationship even considered a relationship? The more he thought about it, he realized that it was not. And as images of couples holding hands, taking small walks, kissing, and having dates, he made a mental note to start doing these small things with Rina.

* * *

Light footsteps echoed throughout the ghostly building and shadows formed here and there by the light.

Karin strolled inside the High School and wandered to different sections of the School just so she could lose herself in her thoughts. The thunder roared outside as she gripped the wire of her headphones even tighter.

Blasting the volume to its max and tapping her fingers against her thighs, the dark-haired beauty thought about her consequences on applying to this school. Surely she'd see many familiar faces she had locked away and she knew that she had to make it up to them by explaining to them her long absence. She cringed at the idea.

Dismissing the complicated thoughts, grey eyes roamed around every detail of the building: large windows, high ceilings, large stairways. And as she took all this in, she couldn't help but look at her feet while walking down some stairways.

_16 steps_, she thought, leveling herself to the basement. _He went down 16 steps to get to the gym..._Shaking her head and laughing a bit, Karin smiled and rested her head against her intertwined arms. Thinking back to the white-haired boy earlier and the way he acted, she couldn't help but grin. Yeah, if most of the people here acted like him, then she's have a blast.

* * *

"Yo, Toshiro! Just the guy I was looking for!"

Finally closing his locker shut, Toshiro gazed at Jinta who had a girl under his arm.

"What do you want?" Toshiro asked, leaning on his locker as he gave a quick glance to the girl. The blonde girl blushed at his gaze and immediately looked away, her deep blue eyes looking at anything but him.

"Since you're Mr. Know-It-All, do you know if the new student is female or male?" he asked, red eyes meeting turquoise.

Toshiro restrained himself from rolling his eyes as he pushed himself away from his locker. Seriously, Jinta needed to stop messing with so many girls.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Toshiro passed Jinta who had raised a brow at him.

"Female." he said and even though he didn't look back, he could tell that Jinta was cheering. He didn't even know how he had become friends with him.

Going down a couple of flights, Toshiro finally reached the gym and headed toward the boys lockers.

"What took ya' so long, Hitsugaya?" demanded the gym teacher.

"Had a run-in with someone." he quickly said, passing by Zaraki and making way to his locker.

* * *

"Alright you little runts! Two options today! It's either dodge ball-" he grinned menacingly at that, "Or laps around the gym for the rest of the period." Groans could be heard from the boys and whines were from the girls. In the end, the laps had won- since many feared of getting hit on the face by their monster of a teacher.

Setting off to a jog, Toshiro skimmed the crowd for Rina. Maybe he should start all this little cliché stuff now? Spotting her light blue hair, Toshiro ran a bit more to catch up with her. "Rina!" he called out.

Said girl looked over at him and smiled sweetly. "Toshiro!" she chimed, slowing her pace so he could catch up with her. "Finally you're here! Now I could tell you what I wanted to talk to you about!"

"Yeah? And what's that?" he asked.

"I'm going to visit my dad in America on Thanks Giving break!" she squealed.

"For the week?" he asked.

"Mhm! Mhm!" she cheered, ranting on and off about how she was going shopping with her friends after school (Despite the bad weather). Toshiro just nodded along and looked elsewhere.

When he spotted the dark-haired girl from earlier, his eyes grew wide. What the hell was she doing here?

"Hey Rina, what do you know about that girl?" He asked, nudging his head towards Karin where she was now heading towards the gym teacher.

Rina followed his gaze and he failed to notice her eyes narrow. "Her?" she asked. "Kurosaki Karin is her name. Don't know much about her but I've seen her back in grade school. She always hung out with the boys, though it's rumored that she _played_ with them."

Toshiro raised a brow.

"She disappeared after 7th grade."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah. A lot of people thought she got pregnant and you know... ran away."

A small silence filled their space as Toshiro thought about what the blue haired girl had said. Nah, even though he hadn't known Karin very long, she doesn't look like that kind of person.

"But those are just rumors!" Rina said, grabbing his arm and dragging him further into the deep crowd. "Don't think much about it." _Don't think much about _her.

Toshiro nodded, gazing back at Karin who was talking with the gym teacher like they were old friends. He watched as Karin made a remark and Kenpachi roaring into laughter. Just who was this Kurosaki Karin?

* * *

Great, it was still raining. Students scattered to their cars or walked out the gate with black umbrellas.

Toshiro was an exception to them as he stayed put under the little protection the school offered and waited for his cousin to appear. Surely she wouldn't mind him sticking around with her, right?

Suddenly, the entrance of the door slammed open to reveal today's center of attention.

Eyes wide, Toshiro gazed at Karin as she passed by him, never once feeling his presence as she strode down the gates without an umbrella.

"It's still raining!" she mumbled, stopping in the middle of the Schools parking lot. Toshiro only raised a brow at her. _Weird girl_. And just like that, with a blink of an eye, she rounded the corner and disappeared from his sight.

"Why are you waiting out here, Shiro?" a soft voice asked.

"Don't call me that!" Toshiro said, head tilting back as he looked at Momo. "And... I was waiting for you because I forgot my umbrella at home." he said, avoiding her gaze and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Momo smiled softly. "Okay, come on then. Your mom must be panicking by now."

Toshiro nodded and Momo opened up her pink umbrella. As they stepped out of the rain, both relatives made small chats.

Momo smiled the whole time, missing the days when they were young and ignorant about life. Now, they had different lives to run and therefore, too busy to try and make space for their talking time. She was always going to her weekly clubs while he hung out with his friends and Rina.

Rina...

Shrugging the thought of the girl out of her mind, Momo proceeded to talk with her young cousin (Though she was the one making the conversation) and cherished the small amount of time they had.

* * *

"Toshiro! My baby! Where were you?"

A tick mark appeared on Toshiros temple when he saw his mother lounging on the couch, a sake bottle grasped in her hands as she eyed him with a weird smile and dazed eyes.

"I'm not a child anymore, Matsumoto!" he shouted. Toshiro refused to call her his mother when she was in this state.

"Yesh you are!" she cooed, watching as he shook his head and made his way to his room. "Remember to change!" she shouted out. Then she noticed Momo and smiled. "Hi, Hinomori! What are _you _doing here?"

Momo sweat dropped and moved towards the drunken lady in order to take away her alcohol. "I live here, Aunt Rangiku. I've been doing so for two years now." she elaborated, moving off to the sink to dispose the liquor.

Rangiku giggled. "_Waaah_?"

She was _so_ wasted.

* * *

"Watcha doin, Kiddo?"

Looking up from his reading, Toshiro's eyes narrowed when they landed on Gin, his father, whose head was poking inside his room.

"Reading, why do you ask?"

Gin smiled his famous smile, eyes closed as he cocked his head to the side. "Just wondering..." he said.

Toshiro raised a white brow. Gin smiled even wider when he caught the small action.

"Why da face? Don't ya believe me?" he asked.

Forgetting about his book, he glared at the man before him. He didn't like Gin one bit. Not since he had left the family when he was only four years old and left Rangiku to suffer. Suffer without his presence and by the age of nine, when he had come back for forgiveness, Toshiro didn't trust him and only gaped in shock when Rangiku accepted his apology. After that, he ignored this man and never once considered him as a father.

"And with that glare, you make no friends." Gin said as he retreated from Toshiros room and left a raging boy behind.

Who did he think he _was_? Of course he had friends! He had Momo... though the fact that she was his cousin demolished it. But he had Jinta! And Rina! And- hell just forget about it! He didn't need many friends to begin with!

And as he used those words for comfort, to help him forget about the lack of social abilities he had, deep down, he knew his father was right. That if he always acted so cold and kept his permanent scowl and acted as if he was better than everyone, he would soon be alone. And even though he never spoke out his deepest secrets, being alone was one of those fears, one that constantly triggered an ache to his heart.

* * *

Heavy footsteps ran through the halls of the school like their life depended on it. _Stupid Matsumoto!_ Toshiro cursed, doing a series of turns.

When he had woken up, he found said women staring at him with deep awe. And when he jerked from his slumber and accused her for being a weird mother, his eyes drifted towards the digital clock where it read 8:14.

"I didn't want to wake you up! You looked so adorable like that." Toshiro mimicked under his breath. Finally spotting his classroom door and looking at his watch, Toshiro flawlessly bursted inside the room. What greeted him didn't fit his day.

"I see you finally decided to show up for class." Mr. Kuchiki announced without looking at him

Toshiro didn't listen to him though, his eyes settled on the person who was sitting on his seat. Kurosaki Karin rested her head on her palms as she gazed outside the window where the warm light shown. Unlike yesterday, she now had the girl's school uniform and instead of her loose hair she had it tied up into a high ponytail.

Feeling as if someone were looking at her, Karin faced the entrance and dully eyed a boy who was glaring at her. She only closed her eyes and looked back out the window. She wasn't in the mood for making enemies.

Byakuya, having noticed Toshiro's frozen state, glance at where the boy was staring. "Since she was the new student, I gave her the privilege to choose her seat and she chose your seat, Hitsugaya. Since you weren't here, I allowed it. Now if you may, sit in the front." he said and went back to the chalkboard to resume his lesson.

Numbly going to the only seat available, Toshiro took a risk and glanced at the dark haired girl. Their eyes connect and he cursed her with them. As if reading his mind, she smugly smirked down at him.

Those grey eyes spoke nothing but pure superiority.

And as he sat in his new assigned chair, he groaned in frustration. He worked so hard to get that seat!

* * *

**Oh my bloody goodness! Readers, I am alive! I, **_FrostyNight98, _**am alive! *Angels sing in the background* Sorry for the very long absence! But here it is, the story that was a sneak peak at the end of **_Found You! _^^

* * *

**~This is **_FrostyNight98_** saying Good-Bye and Good-Day to you :) **_Review**! :)**_


	2. A Token Of Gratitude

**Chapter 2**- _A Token of Gratitude_

* * *

"Dude, stop glaring at her."

Growling, Toshiro looked over at Jinta. "I'm not glaring!" he said, grabbing his plastic fork and stabbing the mashed-potato on his tray.

Jinta raised a brow and Toshiro scowled.

"Why the face, Shiro-chan?"

Eye-brow twitching, Toshiro averted his gaze from Karin and onto Momo who sat in his table along with her friend Renji.

"Shiro is just mad at the new girl over there because she took his Math seat." Jinta said, jerking his head towards the black-haired girl who was surrounded by people. "If you tell me, I'd be glad to give her my seat." he said, smirking as he glanced at Karin. "She's pretty."

Toshiro growled. "It's Hitsugaya!"

Momo pouted. "You let Rina call you by your name and I've known you longer!"

"Momo, don't even try. He only lets her call him that because he claims that he _loves_ her." Renji drawled out with distaste in which Jinta grunted with agreement. Toshro immediately glared at said boy. Like Momo, both red-heads didn't like Rina. And he still didn't get the reason behind it. Rina was nice! She didn't, and doesn't do anything bad. She never cursed or wished bad things upon people.

"Whatever," he mumbled.

A small silence filled the table as everyone ate.

"You know," he heard Renji say after a while, "you're right, Jinta. She _is _pretty cute."

Jinta choked on the fries he was eating. "Eww! What the hell is wrong with you, Moocher? You're older than her!" He cried out.

Toshiro sighed and closed his eyes. It was never calm with these two.

Renji scoffed. "Pfft, stop exaggerating! Only by like one or two years! And stop call me a Moocher!" he growled.

"Please, stop the arguing." Momo pleaded.

"No! He called me a Moocher-"

"Toshiro!"

In an instant, Renji shut his mouth. Growling, he got up from the table and picked up his tray. "I'm out of here." he snapped, dumping his food in the trash.

"Don't leave without me!" Jinta said as he frantically grabbed a handful of fries and shoved it into his mouth. Getting up, he looked over to Toshiro and grinned. "Sorry, but I can't stand her." he said. "See you later, Hitsugaya." and with that, both red-heads were out of his sight in an instant.

"You don't have to stay here y'know." Toshiro mumble over to Momo who was eating her yogurt.

"No, I'm good." she quietly replied. And as she said that, Rina came into view and wrapped her arms around Toshiro's back.

"Toshiro! I missed you so much!" she cried.

Toshiro raised a brow. "Why's that?"

"What do you mean, why? I'm supposed to miss you!" she said, completely oblivious to Momo's presence.

Supposed to? Toshiro asked himself. Brushing off the thought, he reminded himself of the many little things he was going to start doing with Rina. "Hey Rina, do you want to go to dinner with me tonight?" he asked bluntly, staring into her red eyes.

Behind her, Momo choked on her yogurt as she immediately got up from her seat and started to bang her chest.

"Hinamori, are you alright-"

"I would love to!" Rina cheered, interrupting Toshiro. "I'm so excited! Which restaurant? Oh is it that new one that opened up in the city? Oh, I have to get ready!" she beamed, taking out her cell phone and contacting her friends for the latest update. As she moved away from his line of vision, Toshiro hurried off towards Momo and gave her his water bottle in which she frantically accepted.

"It's only like your third date with her and you're taking her to a restaurant?" she asked once she stopped choking.

Toshiro shrugged. "Just taking a step forward."

Momo only stared at him with worry. From what she's heard, Rina tends to like fancy food and fancy dates and it worried her that her cousin would waste so much money. If they truly loved each other, then money wouldn't be necessary.

"Are you sure-"

"Yes, Hinamori." Toshiro said sternly.

Momo frowned. He had never talked to her with that tone before. Finally hearing the bell ring for the next period to begin, Momo picked up her trash and threw it away. She just hoped he was making the right choice.

* * *

The sun began to set and Toshiro finally decided to leave his house since he promised to pick Rina up at 7 o'clock. Making his way downstairs, Toshiro cursed his luck when he bumped into his mother.

Rangiku stopped walking midway to the living room when she eyed her son. She raised a brow at the clothes he wore and for a second, almost forgot about the ice-cream cup she was holding. He had on black dress shoes, black slacks, and a white buttoned up shirt. "Hmm? What's the occasion?" she asked, a smile forming on her lips.

Toshiro rolled his eyes and walked pass her. "I have a date with Rina." he mumbled, snatching his keys from the table.

"Oh! Your pretty girlfriend, right?!" she asked, beaming.

He only nodded, giving her a half-wave before disappearing from her sight.

"Come back safe!" she shouted. When the door closed, she headed towards the living room with a smile. _My little boy's growing up._

* * *

Toshiro walked down the many blocks and made many twists and turns to Rina's house. He walked down the cozy night and let his mind wonder off to troublesome thoughts that he was surely to forget, failing to notice the approaching figure till it was too late.

"Shit! What the hell?"

Toshiro who was unaffected by the impact of crashing against another person, looked below himself to find a hooded figure on the ground, their arms supporting them as they proceeded to get up. "Watch where you're going." Toshiro said, not bothering to apologize to the stranger nor help them. The person was a stranger, it was night outside and if one were to put two and two together, any other human would know to just back off in such situation. Anything could happen when they're practically deserted from all social contact.

"Pfft, stupid shorty." said the person as they dusted themselves up. Toshiro looked back to say something but only raised a brow when said figure was already jogging off. A female figure. Daily routine of an exercise? Well that was stupid. Something could have happened to them.

The seemingly loud ring to his phone brought him out of his daze and he took out the small device.

"Hello?" he asked, proceeding his walk.

"Where are you, Toshiro?"

Toshiro looked ahead as he spotted Rina's house not too far. "I'll be at you house in a short while. Don't worry about it." he said. When she agreed, he hung up and tucked his phone away.

And thus, the night began as he picked her up. He led her to a restaurant not too far and he couldn't help his disappointment when she looked over the restaurant and forced a smile on her features. He admitted that the place wasn't extravagant like she's so used to, but he did his best. In his own opinion, it just looked like a fancy cafe. It felt warm and comfortable and as they were lead towards their seats, they made small talks

"So what's new with you?" she asked, her red eyes gazing at him. Toshiro shrugged. There was nothing to talk about.

"And you?" he asked, in which her face brightened. As they order their food and waited for the food to arrive, she talked about her friends and the gossip that's been going on in school. She then moved on to yesterday's events on how she went shopping with her friends and how the rain drenched all the new things she bought.

"It was a disaster!" she pouted, red lips quivering out. He only nodded just to appease her.

In reality, he hadn't paid attention to half the things she said. Manicures and salons just didn't suit him. And whenever he nodded at her, a pang of guilt soared throughout him knowing that he wasn't paying attention to his girlfriend.

When the food came, a small silence lapsed over them as they ate. She complimented on how good the food was and he only agreed. And when they finished eating and having desert, there was minor conversation between them. When he paid for the bill and both headed out to the now dark night, she latched her arm around his.

"Thanks Toshiro." she said, smiling as they made their way to her home.

"No problem." he said.

Again, another silence filled the air and Toshiro had to wonder if their relationship was always like this. Did silence always fill the gap? A pause on the thought made his brow raise. A gap? Since when was there a gap in their relationship?

"Get home safe!" Rina said, now that they were in front of her house.

"I will." he said, going down the stairs to only stop when she called out for him.

Before he could even question her, slim arms wrapped around his neck and petite lips met his. Surprised by the impact, he soon shrugged it off and responded back. A small spark ran through his body in satisfaction.

Rina was the first to break the contact. She looked at him with a cheeky smile on her face. "That was a goodnight kiss." she said, waving off to him as she entered her house. Toshiro only stood there for a moment before shaking his head and heading towards his home. Maybe it wasn't a gap, probably only a thin crack.

* * *

Less than two weeks had passed and the presence of Kurosaki Karin distracted Toshiro to no extent! She was like a damn mosquito. She was in all his classes aside from tech and having her in most of his classes meant something because all his classes didn't tolerate a single slip up. They were strict and advanced and even he struggled with some subjects like History. To see her just pass with flying colors irked him. She was just so... _smart_! It put him to shame when he would spot her asleep in some of the classes or with headphones on to block out the teachers lesson.

But what probably got on his nerves the most was that she had gotten more than half the schools attention without even trying (Same as him, but _still)_. Seeing her ignore the attention made him irritated. Anyone would gladly use it to its good use but no.

Did she think she was better than everyone else?! That just because she had everything a teenager wanted, she could just rub it on all their faces? Like she would when they were in P.E. She was the fastest out of all of the girls and even some boys. He just couldn't understand how someone could be so perfect! It irked him to no extant. And above all, she made friends with most of the teachers! Pfft, teacher's pet.

"Gosh I swear you're like a hawk." Jinta mumbled one Tuesday afternoon.

Toshiro only glared at said boy, his eyes swerving into a completely different shade of color. He wasn't a _hawk_.

As if reading his mind, Jinta shook his head and went to their last class of the day. Toshiro followed not far behind, the only class they ever shared together. "Yes you are. Leave poor Kurosaki alone. She'd be bothered if she finds out she has a stocker." he said, taking a turn to the left. "She probably doesn't even know you exist!" he practically yelled, laughing at the thought of it.

Everyone knew who Hitsugaya Toshiro was. It was a fact! Even the rodents who lived inside the School know who he is!

"Whatever." Toshiro mumbled as he finally spotted their classroom. Entering and taking their perspective seat, Toshiro couldn't help but glance at Jinta who sat next to Kurosaki, their seats being close together since they had Science. He was still surprised Jinta hadn't made a move on her.

* * *

"Toshiro! I'm going to the library so don't wait for me." Rina shouted over her shoulders, running the opposite direction as him.

Toshiro only nodded. He watched her figure disappear from his sight and then walked down the stairs of the school and off towards the exit. His mind then wandered off to what Jinta had said not too long ago.

_"Yo, if it's alright, I invited Kurosaki to sit in our lunch table tomorrow."_

_Toshiro raised a brow as his hands unconsciously clenched. "And what makes you think she'll come?" he asked. Obviously, Jinta didn't notice his reaction since he shrugged._

_"I'll force her." he said bluntly._

_Toshiro shook his head. "She'll kick your ass." he mumbled, remembering that she was in the Kendo team. Jinta didn't hear him though._

When he dismissed the memory away from his mind, he focused back to the side walk and only raised a brow as a small recognizable figure approached his way. Squinting, he came to the realization that it was Kurosaki. And if it were anyone else aside from him, they wouldn't have noticed the deadly aurora that emitted from her. Her fists were clenched and coated with bruises and blood. Her hood was on, preventing people from seeing the hatred that burned through her eyes.

And as her shoulders shoved his, he was able to hear the incoherent words that fell from her mouth. "They deserve what they fu*king got!"

Toshiro slightly winced at the tone she spoke in. They were like venom and as he watched her stiff figure stomp away, he gazed over at the direction she had come from.

In the left, where no one would have noticed, was a small alley. Toshiro spotted people there and wanting to investigate- though his mind told him to ignore it- he approached the five figures. He restrained himself from gasping when he saw the scene. Four out of the five girls picked themselves up from the ground- their faces filled with bruises and bloody noses. By looking at their uniform, he could tell they were from his school.

"Damn Kurosaki." he heard one mumble, though he didn't know which one had said it

"What happened here?" he asked, coming closer to them. The fifth girl who wasn't on the ground looked up and gasped.

"H-Hitsugaya!" she screeched, covering her bruised jaw as tears started to emerge. The others heard her and abruptly got up, their eyes also falling into tears. "It-It was Kurosaki. She did this to us!" she cried. The other girls nodded with agreement.

"And why would she do that? Do you know?" he asked.

One of the girl shook their head and ran over to him, her head digging against his chest.

"N-No! She just came at us and started to hit my friend! We tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen!" she cried, falling into fits of sobs. "She's crazy! She's a monster!" she wailed.

Toshiro only stood stiff as he gazed at all five girls. They were ruffed up pretty badly and to think that Kurosaki had done it all baffled him. She wasn't only smart but strong as well. "Go home and clean yourselves up." he said, detaching himself from the crying girl.

"O-Okay!" one of the girl said, rubbing her red eyes. "What are you going to do about Kurosaki?" she asked, her eyes glittering with hope at thought of The Toshiro standing up to protect them.

"Nothing" he said. "She didn't do anything to threaten me. If anything, the question is, what are you going to do about it?" he asked, eyeing them.

The five girls stared at him for a while before one of them numbly nodded. "I-I see what you mean. We'll report it to the principle tomorrow." she said. The girls nodded as well and scurried away in different directions.

Toshiro watched them leave and was about to follow suit but stopped when a small glimmer caught his attention. Looking back, he spotted a small item on the floor. Maybe one of the girls dropped it?

Approaching the small object, he came face to face what may have been a pendant. Crouching down and taking a better look, he came to the conclusion that it was Karin's pendant. A pendant he had seen wrapped around her wrist. When they were in gym and she had taken it off, he clearly saw the gold designs of two flowers and a musical note. It was really beautiful but the thing he was looking at didn't quite match its description. The thing he was holding was all battered up as if it were stomped on countless times. Small little pieces were broken and the inside of the pendant was torn apart. He reached towards a small item that looked like a small strip of paper and raised it in the air so that he could get a better look. His surprise didn't leave his face when he realized what it was.

"It's a musical locket?" he mumbled to himself, tracing a thumb over the small dots that were attached to the paper. Looking back at the broken pendant/musical box/locket... whichever it was, he found himself collecting all the little pieces.

When he made sure he had everything, he was about to leave but he noticed a small squared paper under his shoe. Looking closer, his eyes widened.

It was a picture. A picture of a man with black hair and a large beard settling under a huge tree, his head resting under his arms as- what he assumed to be his wife- sat not too far from him. She was very gorgeous, he could say that much. Her angelic smile brightened up the whole picture as her light brown- almost golden-like hair flew in the air. When his eyes settled on the three kids around her, his jaw slackened. A boy who had orange hair with wide brown eyes and a huge smile on his face wasn't the cause of his action. Nor the smaller brown haired girl next to him. It was the dark haired girl that stood grinning next to her mother. She had short hair which barely reached her neck and wide shining gray eyes.

Karin? He asked, staring at the picture with upmost confusion. Was this her?

The dim light brought him out of his trance and he gazed up at the sky. It was starting to get dark. Shoving the very small picture into his pocket and making sure that no small pieces of the pendant had fallen, he proceeded to walk towards his house.

Maybe he could fix the small object? A small part of him stood proud at the decision, but the other part scowled at him for being so stupid. She had literally beaten up five girls for no damn reason! No, that wasn't his excuse. His reason for not wanting to help her out was because she was practically his rival. Rivals shouldn't help each other out. But he couldn't shake out the feeling of seeing her so upset earlier. Maybe that's why she fought them? Because they broke her pendant? He immediately laughed at the thought. It was just a stupid pendant! There was nothing to fret about. Using the conclusion as his final decision, he proceeded towards his house that was not too far from his sight. And as his fingers went through the small broken pieces that were in his pocket, he unconsciously took back what he said and considered the thought of helping her out.

* * *

"Toshiro, you're back!" Rangiku said from the living room, a clothing catalog resting on her lap.

Toshiro ignored her and went to his room. Upon entering, he threw his bag at the corner of his bed and went to his clean desk where a lamp and stacks of pen were displayed.

He dug into his pockets and then lay every piece of the pendant on his desk. In the end, he noticed that the chain was nowhere to be found. Frantically looking through his pockets and placing the small picture on the desk as well, he came to the conclusion that he didn't have it! Did he drop it somewhere? He didn't recall seeing it on the ground. Squeezing his eyes shut and pinching his nose, he silently cussed. A pendant isn't a pendant without a chain!

Finally snapping his eyes open, his eyes roamed around his room and stopped on his drawers. He moved towards it and opened the top one. He shoved his clothes aside and looked at the bottom where a small black box hid. Grabbing it and pulling the lid open, he spotted four chains and took one out. Analyzing the specks of gold, silver and blue on it, he silently nodded to himself and took off the charm it had. Putting the box to its perspective place, Toshiro shut his drawers and lay the chain on the desk. All he had to do now was fix the pendant and ta-da!

"Maybe I can take it to tech and ask the teacher to fix." he mumbled. "Or I could go to the store and ask them to fix it. But it would cost too much."

"Whatcha got there?"

Startled by the new voice, Toshiro swirled around to face Gin. Gin smiled and cocked his head to the side.

"Who gave you permission to enter my room?"

Gin didn't say anything as he passed by the white haired boy and went over to the medium sized desk. Upon spotting the broken pieces, he gave out a low whistle and took out a small tweezer from the inside of his robe. Picking a piece up, he said, "Wow! Wha happen here? Looks like a truck ran ova it." Gin then spotted the picture and swiftly picked it up. "What do we have here? Tryin to fix somthin?" he finally asked.

"Get out." Toshiro ordered. He didn't like people snooping around his room, especially Gin.

Gin frowned a bit and placed the picture on the desk again. "Fine, fine!" he sang, strolling over to the door. "I was jus' goin to tell you 'bout a friend I know who repairs stuff but if yer not interested, then I s'pose-

"Wait!" Toshiro suddenly said. Closing his eyes and cursing at himself, he never thought the day would come where he would ask Gin for help. "You're not lying, are you?!" He growled. "Because if you are-"

"Now why would ya say something like dat?" Gin smiled when he saw how angry Toshiro was getting. "But sadly, no. I'm not lyin to ya. But before I tell you who it is, you're going to have to do me a favor." Suppressing a chuckle when Tohiro's eye twitched, Gin moved towards his son and whispered words to his son that made the young boy flush a deep red.

* * *

When Toshiro went to school the next day, he was surprised to see that Karin wasn't in her seat- the one she had stolen from him. And as classes began, his eyes constantly kept glancing towards the door- hoping that she'd pop out of nowhere. He didn't know why her absence put him on edge though. They never talked (except for that one time in the Office where he was sure she had forgotten) or acknowledged each other. Well, she didn't acknowledge him. He on the other hand, watched every step and move she made.. Could it have been love at first sight? Toshiro almost laughed at the thought. Yeah, right. No- there was no way in hell it came to that conclusion. Interest in first sight though- maybe, could possibly be. All those times he watched her (Achingly admitted in doing so) he come to realize that nothing of her background was ever mentioned. What she did- what she liked? What type of music she listens to- nothing! Nada! Not one hint. And that only made him want to learn more about her.

Maybe that's why he longed to see her? Shaking his head, Toshiro forced himself to stop thinking of the girl. He had Rina for goodness sake! It was like-like mentally cheating on her! He couldn't do that to her.

"Mind to share your thought, Hitsugaya?" Byakuya looked at the dazed boy, who in response shook his head and started jotting down the notes that were on the board. Nodding, Byakuya continued with his lesson.

* * *

"Did you hear?!" Jinta asked as he slid into the round table, a juice box grasped into his hand. "Kurosaki got expelled for one-week."

"Dude, you're so late with that!" Renji smirked when Jinta bristled with anger.

"Yeah? And why's that?" Toshiro had to slightly cringe when he noticed how fast he asked it. Well no duh! He was looking for her this whole time, after all.

Both the red-heads looked at him and a grin grew on both their faces. "Phew- seems like whitey here has an interest in someone else rather than Tina."

"Her names Rina." Toshiro corrected.

Renji rolled his eyes. "Rina, Tina. It's all the same."

"Eh! Sorry I'm late you guys!" Momo cried as she sat around the table, gasping for air. "I had to help a freshman find their class."

"You missed it, Momo! Toshiro has an interest in someone else who's _not_ Tina!" Jinta said, his face sparkling with joy while Toshiro face-palmed.

"It's Rina!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"_Eh_?" Momo cried, eyes going wide as she looked between her cousin and the younger red-head. "_What_? You do? Who?"

"Kurosaki Karin." Jinta said proudly.

Renji snorted. "Yeah, but she got expelled this morning."

"_Huh_? The new student?" Momo looked over to Toshiro who hadn't said anything. "_Why_? What did she do?"

"Apparently five girls-I don't know who they are 'cause they were anonymous- claimed that she had beaten them all up for no reason. Crazy, right? Five girls."

"And the principle just believed that?" Momo asked, eyes wide with horror. Renji shrugged as he ate his food. If you asked him, this whole school had gotten crazy- if not, even worse.

Toshiro on the other hand stared down at his food and thought about the favor Gin had asked him to do. The broken pieces of the pendant were in his pocket where it was tightly secured in a small plastic bag and if he was going to fix it, then he would need to accept the condition. Mind made up, Toshiro got up from his table-dismissing his friends questions- and threw his tray away while he headed to his tech class. Maybe he could ask his teacher for advice?

Even though was the adoptive daughter of his crazy science teacher, he still found her very useful when it came to building new things. She was also very nice, in her own weird way. Spotting the door he was looking for, he knocked and only entered when he heard a muffled 'come in'.

In the corner of the room, where a desk stood by, he spotted Nemu working on a small robotic toy.

"What is it that you need, Hitsugaya?" she asked, never once taking her eyes off the small toy.

"I need your help to repair a broken musical pendant." he said. Nemu paused what she was doing for a while before placing the small tweezer she was holding onto her desk.

"Do you have the broken pieces with you right now?" she asked in which he nodded. "Good. Place it on the white desk over here." she said, getting up and standing in front of said desk. A medium sized lamp hovered above the surface and she turned it on when he placed the small broken pieces on the lab table. Nemu raised a brow as she separated the musical strip, from the broken pieces. "Looks like a truck ran over It." she mumbled. Toshiro restrained his eye from twitching.

"Is it fixable?"

Nemu sighed as she took a tweezer from the inside of her sleeves and picked up a small piece. "Yes, it's fixable. But it will take at least two weeks to repair it if you don't put your day's work into it.

Toshiro gritted his teeth. That was too long.

"The function of making the musical locket work will be easy. We can finish that within two days." she said, spreading the parts that will make the music of the musical pendant work, from those that are used for decorating purposes only. "Repairing it back to its original look though, would take up the rest of days since it's all battered up and dented."

At the new information, he raised a brow and felt ten times better. "Gin instructed me to one of his friends who repairs broken items." he said coolly. "Says he's a master at it."

Nemu nodded. "Then we'll work on the function of the music while your repairer will work on the appearance."

And then, the bell rang signaling his lunch period had ended. "I'll be off then. Thank You, Ms. Nemu." Toshiro said. "I'll leave the parts we're working on here while I'll take the other parts to the repairer."

Again, she nodded and he put some of the small pieces in the plastic bag. With the task done, he exited the room.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Rina asked when School ended.

"Don't worry about it." Toshiro replied, and after a short thought, he added, "Tell my mother that I will arrive late." Then he walked away from her.

As he searched the address Gin had given him, he idly wondered if his father had sent people to abduct him and do torturous stuff to him just for his entertainment. Seriously, one second he was in the streets filled with busy people, many buildings, and loud noise, and in the next second, he's completely secluded from any interaction whatsoever. The streets were eerily quiet and the lack of buildings didn't help. And to make matters worse, he still had his school bag on which would prevent him from running at his usual fast pace if anything bad were to happen.

Finally, after what seemed like hours walking around in an endless circle, he spotted a small shack - or was it a little shop? - Not too far away. And as he stood in front if the now known shop, his mind was dead silent for a whole minute.

What kind of damn candy shop stood in the middle of _nowhere_?

Then he processed what he had thought.

A candy shop...

Gin had sent him to a damn Candy Shop!

Cursing under his breath, he was ready to leave when the wooden door burst open.

"What the hell? Toshiro?"

Jinta watched with amusement as Toshiro whipped his head towards him.

"What are you doing there, Jinta?" Toshiro asked in which Jinta raised a brow.

"This is where I live." he stated, and while at it, held up a broom "And work. Question is, why are _you _here, pretty boy? Here to buy some candy?" he asked.

Toshiro scoffed at the thought and debated whether to tell him of his true intentions. "Just thought a repairer worked here, that's all." he said dryly before taking his leave. Stupid Gin! Sending him to a damn candy shop! He was probably laughing right now in his big mighty leather chair with wine grasped in his hands. Sneaky snake.

"Repairer? My uncle's a repairer- Oh, wait! Your father is Gin, right? Yeah my uncle said to let you come in if you requested him. I didn't think it was you though!" the red headed boy said, entering the small shop and signaling Toshiro to follow. "What did you break anyways?" he asked.

Toshiro shrugged as his response and Jinta found himself ready to choke the damn kid. Such an anti-social bastard. "Just go in there and say Gin sent you."

Toshiro nodded and entered the room.

"Ah, Gin Jr., is that you?"

The moment the anonymous person spoke, Toshiro had rearranged all the people who irritated him his whole 17 years and put this stranger as his #1 hit list, with Gin following in 2nd place.

Not receiving an answer, Urahara stopped what he was doing and poked his head out from the many boxes that prevented him from seeing the boy. A sly smile decorated his lips when he saw Toshiro giving out a dark aurora.

"The name's Hitsugaya." He growled

"Ah! Okay Hitsugaya Gin. Jr." Urahara cheerfully said, taking out a fan and hiding his devious smirk. "Come and follow me! Your father said you need my help in something?" he questioned.

Toshiro nodded and threw a small bag on the table where Urahara had led him to. "Do you know how to fix that?"

The blonde man opened up the little bag and inspected the small pieces. "A pendant?" he asked in which Toshiro nodded. "Some of the pieces are missing, you do know that, right?" he asked.

"It's actually a musical pendant. My teacher is helping me restore how it used to worked." he said, looking at the way Urahara's expression turned slightly dark, only to be swept away in the next second with a cheerful smile as he put the pieces in the bag and inside his robes.

"Sorry, but I won't fix it till the music part is finished with." he said. Toshiro was about to protest but stopped when the man held up a hand. "I'll need _all_ the pieces in order to fix it. Until then, good-bye Gin Jr.! Have a safe trip back home!" he sang, rushing the boy out the room.

"Eh? Wait! Gin said that you had the um- the thing he requested from you!" he said, now outside the shop and eyeing the man with a light blush.

"What? A request? Well I know no such thing! What was the name of the item he wanted? Please freshen up my poor old memory." he cried in an obvious fake despair.

Toshiro wanted to choke the man. He was teasing him! "The- the _thing_!" he cried out in a hushed whisper.

"Hmm? Say that a little louder please?" Urahara said.

"The handcuffs…" he mumbled, extending out his hand and waiting for the damn toy.

"Handcuffs?" Urahara questioned. "The fluffy one with cheetah decorations or the plain cop ones?" he asked.

"I-I don't know!"

"Hmm... I think he wants the cheetah one." he mumbled to himself as he dug into his robes and pulled out the cuffs, along with a... Oh hell _no_!

"The gag is just a little oomph for their... activity." he said, bouncing on his heels as he gave the traumatized teen the items.

"Whatever." Toshiro mumbled as he quickly hid the items in his bag and took off to leave.

"Oh yeah! One more thing!" he heard the man call out.

"What-"  
_  
Smack!_

"Those are Rangiku's under garments she ordered. Okay, tootles! Nice meeting you, Mini Gin!"

Toshiro restrained himself from attacking the man right then and there. Growling, he peeled the large bra and panties off his head and made his way to his house.

Gin is so going to pay, damn it!

* * *

Toshiro packed up his belongings from his desk and restrained himself from yawning. Last night, when he had gotten home, Gin had teased him endlessly and he wasn't ready to look at both his parents in the same way he used to. It was just... weird. And it didn't help when Momo had latched on to him and pleaded him to tell her what he did after school. In all, he barely had time to sleep.

"Hitsugaya, please come here for a minute." Byakuya said, in which the white haired boy hesitantly complied. Had he done something wrong?

"Yes, Mr. Kuchiki?" he asked.

Byakuya didn't bother looking at him as he grabbed a sheet of paper from his desk and gave it to him. Toshiro raised a brow when he saw that it was the homework he had assigned to them.

"Please give this to Kurosaki." he bluntly said.

Toshiro stared at the man like he was crazy. "Sorry, what? Why are you asking me?"

At this, Byakuya raised his head to meet his students gaze. Neither blinked for two whole seconds till said man spoke. "Because your house is closer to hers." When he saw Toshiro still confused, he sighed. _Then he didn't know where she lived.  
_  
"Three houses down from yours. You'll know when you see the Kurosaki clinic sign." he said.

There's a clinic near where I live? Toshiro thought, baffled by the new found information. "Can't Momo-"

"Are you refusing my order, Hitsugaya?" the man interrupted, raising a brow as his eyes narrowed.

Sighing in defeat, Toshiro took the papers and made his way to his next class. Tsk, it was all Kurosaki's fault! If she hadn't beaten people up, then he wouldn't have had the need to visit her. She was wasting his time. Time in needing to fix her locket... Damn it, it was all her fault!

* * *

The white haired boy glared at the teacher before him. It was his last class of the day and the text book she handed to him didn't ease away the annoyance that was piling up.

"Please give this to Kurosaki, Hitsugaya." She said, smiling politely with eyes saying that if he even considers to refuse, he wouldn't live to see another day.

Toshiro, too frustrated to even think of it, glared back at her and snatched the book away, putting it on the nice big pile of 'Please give Kurosaki her assignment'.

Carrying the homework assignments on his arm, he left the school and made way to the Kurosaki household. He wondered if she had any siblings. And what she was like at home. Was she brash and wild? He chuckled at the thought. Nah. She was probably cooped inside her room and studying her brains off while listening to music. Yeah, that seemed more accurate. Her family could also be the same as her. Those strict and highly intelligible one. He gagged at the thought. Yeah, no- he wouldn't want to meet them.

Now passing his house, Toshiro started looking for the Kurosaki sign. And when he did spot it, he wondered why he had never crossed paths with the dark haired girl. Even before he knew she existed, why hadn't he ever seen her around?

Shrugging the thought away, he stood before the door step and hesitantly knocked. The house itself wasn't as extravagant as his, but it did well with coping a family. A two story house wasn't rare these days, anyway.

After a minute or so had passed, he was about to knock again when he heard shuffling noises from the inside.

"Who is it?" He figured that it was Karin's voice.

"I'm here to give you your assignment from school." he replied, feeling embarrassed because in another's eyes, it would have looked like he was talking to the door.

As if reading the boys mind, the door creaked open and out came Kurosaki Karin with grey sweats and a white T-Shirt.

Awkwardly, he shoved the stacks of work to her. "Er- here." he said. She nodded and if he wasn't so damn distracted by the fact that he had brushed his finger against hers, he would have seen the smirk on her lips.

"Thanks." she said. "Hitsugaya, right?"

He nodded and she grinned. "Cool. Do you want something to drink?" she asked, shifting the work in her arms.

"No, that's fine." he said hurriedly. In response, Karin gave a nod and bid him farewell. He only stayed there for a second or so before walking to his house, thinking of what a big and tiring day this had been.

And it had been like that for the next four days. Teachers would tell him to bring her the work and he would obey. Then he would give it to her and she'll always reply with a thank you and if he wanted to get something to drink. Each time she asked, he would always reply with the same answer.

"No, it's okay... but thank you."

She would then nod, and he would leave. That was their same routine and he knew it wasn't long till their little system would change completely.

* * *

"Come on, Toshiro!" Rina whined beside him. "It's Friday and we haven't spent time together since Monday!"

"You know exactly why I don't have time." Toshiro replied back, his arms filled with stacks of work once again. Rina pouted and encircled her arms onto Toshiro's.

"I know, but- Oh! Can I come with you? Then after that, we can spend time together!" The blue haired girl squealed at the image she had created in her head.

Toshiro wanted to flat out refuse with a big no, but held his tongue. For the last few days, it felt as if the homework giving was like a special thing he and Karin held. Well, for him. And to just let Rina in on his small enjoyment would just ruin how... meaningful the journey just was?

Hesitantly shrugging off the weird thought, he gave his agreement. Her eyes sparkled with his choice. "Okay, let's hurry and get this over with then!" Grabbing half the work he was carrying, she literally dragged him to Kurosaki's house, ranting on and about the fun they'd have.

"Wow! This is her house, huh?" she asked once they reached their destination and making a fail attempt to whistle.

Toshiro only nodded as he made way to the door he came to be accustomed to. He wasn't as nervous as he had been the first time he came here. In fact, he was somehow acting as if he owned the place. Knocking a couple of times on the door, he waited for the door to open.

"Yeah, okay, I'm coming." he heard her lay back reply.

"Ohh! I finally get to meet the famous Kurosaki Karin!" Rina cheered.

The door burst open to see a sleep deprived Karin. Her hair was tussled everywhere and half lidded eyes met them, almost dropping completely to catch up on some sleep. "Yes?" she yawned out.

"Your work." Toshiro said bluntly, handing the tired girl her work. Karin stared at it for a moment before grabbing it.

"This one too!" Rina said, placing the books above the one Karin was holding. Karin slowly nodded and stared at her with a raised brow. Seeming to understand what she was thinking, she smiled. "Name's Rina."

"Karin." she said. After a moment of silence, Karin started backing up. "Thanks, and bye."

"Kay, bye!" Rina cheered. When the door closed, the couple made their way out of her property.

"Wow that was intense." Rina mumbled as she scratched her head. Toshiro only nodded as he took her hand.

Giggling, she started to lead him to the mall.

* * *

Kisuke Urahara smiled with pride when he finished the last touches of his current project. Ah, yes, what a magnificent sight it was. The pendant itself was structured in a way that made the scientist glee with joy. He loved the moments when he pieced the parts together and grinned vigorously when it completed an amazing function. It was finally unified and everything about it was magnificent.

If only he knew who built it...

Shrugging the thought, he made his way to his telephone and dialed a phone number, humming joyfully as the phone rang.

"Hello, Gin Jr.!" he sang when the other person picked up.

"What do you want?"

Urahara smiled when he heard the growl. "Are you busy?" he asked, hearing the chatter of another person. There was a small silence before Toshiro spoke.

"Yes… now what do you want? If Gin ordered you to-"

"Oh no, no! Nothing like that! Well, not this time." Urahara said, laughing at the memory.

"Then _what_?"

"No, I just came to tell you that the musical locket is finished but since you're busy, I'll just-"

"I'll be there in 30 minutes."

Then the line went off.

Urahara smiled once again as he looked at the small item that took all the glory from everything else that was on the table. All it needed was a chain to support its beauty.

* * *

"Where is it, Urahara?" Toshiro asked, looking around the room for the locket.

He had wanted to see how it looked like- since he only remember how it looked like during that one time in P.E- and it only irked him when Urahara told him that he wouldn't show him anything till he finished it. That day was today.

"Meh, meh, Mini Gin. You're so rude. No greeting for me whatsoever and you're even late! Not to mention-"

Toshiro only glared at the man for stalling. He had come an hour late after the call because he needed to make up an excuse to Rina as to why he needed to leave so suddenly. In return of the guilt that was piling up inside of him, he promised her that he'd spend tomorrow with her for the whole day. She cheered in response

"Tsk, Urahara!"

"Fine..." said man mumbled as he lead the young boy to his 'lab'. He went to his desk and opened a drawer where he pulled out the golden pendant.

Toshiro stared at the object with awe. _Finally…_

* * *

**Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry for holding you, my readers, up! D: Really, I'm so, so, so, so, sorry! For those who pm'd me, thanks for the motivation and I tried to finish it up in time for you guys. Those who reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story, _thank you! _I like to get to know my readers so when ever I see this in my mail, I check ya profiles (Creepy of me, I know). So yes, that means I looked at all ya'sz profile :p**

**Hope You Enjoyed :D**

* * *

_**~This is **__FrostyNight98_** saying Good-Bye and Good-Day to you :) **_Review**! :3**_


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